Volunteer reflects on 54 years of dedication at Armed Forces Service Center in MSP Airport
The Brief
The Armed Forces Service Center opened nearly 55 years ago, and is currently located inside the C concourse at MSP. AFSC is a Minnesota nonprofit that serves the military, but is not connected to the military.
Jeanne Morford recalls volunteering the first day the so-called "military lounge" opened.
FSC was open 24 hours a day for more than 49 years up until the pandemic. More volunteers will allow the center to be open to more veteran, retired, and active-duty military members.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Every week, Jeanne Morford makes her way through Terminal 1 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, and retired Sgt. Major Vic Gage does the same. Instead of flying, their destination is the Armed Forces Service Center- a place for new military recruits, veterans, retired service members and their families to relax while traveling.
"I often hear is that they say, 'Wow, this is the nicest USO we've seen.' And I said, 'Well, we're not a USO, we are a Minnesota nonprofit that we serve the military, but we're not connected to the military in any way.' And they're very impressed," says Morford.
The backstory
In 1969, Nancy Purdum- Hall's mother, Maggie Purdum, had the idea of creating a private space for traveling members of our military. During the Vietnam War, Maggie's son Scott told her about sleeping on the floor of an airport and using his duffle bag as a pillow.
"This is a 40 some year old Wayzata housewife trying to get a chunk of the airport from a, you know, some big deal people? And she was working on it and working that one back away and don't take no for an answer," says Nancy. "She was about to give up when he was killed, and with him came a note. It said 'don't give up.'"
Scott's mom didn't give up. A few months later on Nov. 22, 1970, the first military lounge opened. Morford recalls serving hot dogs and organizing pool tables, and playing cards for traveling members of the military. Now two locations later the space has expanded. Food, showers, bunks for rest offer everyone from new recruits to veterans a comfortable place while traveling.
"We are very strict about knowing what time they need to get up, because we don't want them to fall asleep and miss a flight," says Morford. "I guess I've always admired people who are in the military and I wanted to do something to help, to show my appreciation for their service, and that's why I got involved and stayed involved."
What you can do
Volunteers for AFSC must be at least 21 years old. A designated parking area and an airport badge with background checks are included in the process.
Volunteer Duties include:
Welcoming traveling military guests
Checking eligibility identification
Limited food preparation
Offering center amenities
Light housekeeping
Other miscellaneous activities
Find more information on volunteering here.
What's next
The goal of the AFSC is to get back to keeping the doors open 24 hours, but more volunteers are needed to do so.
"It's not uncommon if you've got 20 young recruits coming through that, you know, many of them haven't, haven't flown before. Or if they did, they were with mom and dad that were kind of shepherding through the airport. So it's just an extra level of, of kind of security for them that they've got somebody very knowledgeable with getting them getting their boarding passes, helping them get through security, helping them find their way around the airport," says AFSC president, Rick Dale. "It's not uncommon for some snafu to take place. A name doesn't match up with a boarding pass or orders, and our volunteers have done it long enough that they know how to work with the airlines to basically get the young person off to wherever they're going, East Coast or West Coast for their basic training."
AFSC is located at MSP Terminal 1 on the second floor at the end of Concourse C. For more information on the AFSC click here:
The Source
The Armed Forces Service Center.
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